4th Pyramid :: The Light IS but the Shade of the Darkness :: 4th Pyramid Productions
as reviewed by Jayson Young

Am I the only one that thinks an instrumental rap album is a bit of an
oxymoron? I mean, how can anything really be called a rap album when it
doesn't have any raps on it? Alright, to be fair, I'm not sure if 4th
Pyramid even set out to make an "instrumental rap album" here, but that's
what this CD comes across as. Judged on those merits, "The Light..." feels
very much like an incomplete package. This is a 16-track affair, spanning
more than 45 minutes, and it's entirely instrumental. The only vocals to be
heard come in the form of samples. Is this inherently a bad thing? Not
necessarily, no. But honestly, I can only think of a handful of top-caliber
producers that could put together a 45-minute display of beats without the
aid of someone rocking the mic. It's just not an easy task. Props to 4th
Pyramid for trying, but I think "The Light..." could have used a lot more
polish before making its way out of the studio (or, as the case may very
well be, out of the PC in some cat's basement, but I digress).

Things get off to a good start with the first track, "Contemplating Where to
Begin." This would make a great instrumental intro for a rap album proper,
and may well be the album's standout. It opens with an amusing sample:
"Hello out there! We're ready to begin our program!" and continues to evolve
into a pseudo-jazz track, complete with snare/cymbal drums and light piano.
Listening to the track, however, you will IMMEDIATELY notice how bad the
drum programming sounds. I hate to sound like an asshole, but I gotta be
honest: this is some of the cheapest, most chintz-sounding drum programming
I've ever witnessed. I'm 90% sure these drum sounds were pilfered from some
free, downloadable piece of shareware. This is an unfortunate situation,
because it's the one constant problem that plagues this entire CD. There are
some decent musical ideas on "The Light..." like the live guitar work courtesy
of Woodstock on a couple of tracks, the Egyptian influence on "Burial of the
Pharaohs," and the liberal funk samples on " Wallabee Strut." But the
unbelievably shitty drums just ruin the whole thing for me. This one would
have been hot with live drumming – that's a sound that you just cannot mimic.

4th Pyramid obviously has some strong creative ideas. The track titles alone
demonstrate that. "Absurd Concoction," "Light Through the Fog," and "Eve of
the Renaissance"? Pretty dope sounding, based strictly on names. But sadly,
it's often more interesting to ponder the imagery that the track titles
conjure up than to hear the actual tracks.

That's not to say that I'm going to use my copy of "The Light..." as a
coaster, though. It has its strengths. Like I said, there are some fairly
cool ideas at work on some of the tracks, and while they do get sort of old
at 2+ minutes apiece, they aren't bad to listen to once or twice. 4th
Pyramid has nice taste in samples, so it's a shame to see some of them go to
waste. Like I said, better drums would have bettered things exponentially,
and an MC spitting would have been an improvement as well. The production
quality is suspect, and the 16-track playlist could easily have been
refined. I just really get the impression that something is missing here.
Not sure what that something is, but the lack of it definitely makes itself
apparent. Maybe 4th Pyramid just half-assed the whole thing, and that's the
problem. Who knows.

"The Light is but the Shade of the Darkness" is interesting enough that it
can be tolerated on its first go-round. I would say "enjoyed," but that may
be too strong a word. It's an album with more than its fair share of
problems, and considerably fewer strengths. At the very least, "The Light..."
would probably be fun to freestyle to with your boys, if you ever do that in
the first place. Ultimately though, it's pretty disposable. I won't write
4th Pyramid off though – with some fine-tuning and a decent MC, they could
be a force to be reckoned with. Maybe.